National Rowing Championships Regatta
The following boys represented Cranbrook School at the National Championships held at Lake Barrington, Tasmania. Sol Stathis, Toby Lane, Henry Dawson, Max Scales, Tomas Loukes, Edward Hartwright, Edward Williams, Charles Mann, Luke Martin, Owen Mudie, Oscar Orden, Tate Leggett, James Campbell, Max Allchin & Fergus Dawson-Damer.
James Campbell & Max Allchin competed in the Under 17 Double Sculls event. After coming 2nd in their initial Heat, the boys bounced back with a superb row in their Repechage to qualify for the Semi-finals. An unfortunate combination of weather and change in start procedures caught the boys off guard at the start and they failed to qualify for the Final. For a combination that has excelled at every regatta they have competed in for the school over several years it was an uncharacteristically ignominious way to exit the national event but a valuable lesson to be carried into the future.
Oscar Orden, Tate Leggett, James Campbell, Max Allchin & Fergus Dawson-Damer contested the Under 17 Quadruple Scull event. 33 crews contested the event with Cranbrook eventually making the Semi-Final only to miss the Final by less than 4 seconds. The boys stepped up race by race as they realised they could dig deeper and deeper with every experience. The event’s rules allow composite/representative crews, when compared to other school crews Cranbrook finished in the top 5 crews in the country.
The crew went on to compete in the Open Schoolboy Quadruple Sculls where they eventually finished 19th from 26 Crews and were the 2nd highest placed Year 10 crew in the competition. An experience that will no doubt serve them well in years to come.
The Cranbrook 2nd Quad of; Sol Stathis, Toby Lane, Henry Dawson, Max Scales and Tomas Loukes contested the Open Schoolboy Quadruple Sculls in both long (2000m) and short (500m) format. The crew wrestled with the enormous task of taking on the best schoolboy sculling crews in the country in an event where the National Record which has stood since 2016 was lowered by 5 seconds in the preliminary rounds. While finishing 22nd overall from 26 entrants, the real marker was that the crew finished 4th in the country when compared to other 2nd Crews and reflected the depth and confidence in the Cranbrook Rowing Program this season.
Edward Hartwright, Edward Williams, Charles Mann, Luke Martin and Owen Mudie represented Cranbrook as the School’s 1st Quad and ‘flew the flag’ at the highest possible level. A school record breaking row in the Heat saw the crew qualify directly to the Semi-Finals where they withstood a withering finish from Gippsland Grammar to qualify for the A Final by .65 seconds the school’s first appearance in the A Final in 9 years. In a scorching A Final, the crew finished 7th in the country leaving it all out on the deep waters of Lake Barrington.
The crew also contested the National Final of the Schoolboy Quadruple Scull Sprint finishing an agonising 4th, a mere 1.22 seconds off the podium.
All boys gave their best effort throughout a long and exhausting week at the biggest regatta ever held in Australia. We are extremely indebted to our Coaches, Mr Henning and Mr Irons, our support staff at school Ms McCabe and to the dedicated parents who fed and supported the boys throughout their journey.
Regards
Sam Carroll
Head of Rowing
Photos taken by Craig Allchin